No Empty Promises

With more unique #1s than any other quarter in 2018, Q4 continued to showcase Australian radio’s willingness to take a punt on fresh talent.

Aussie artists account for three Top 10 entries in Q4’s Hot 100 Airplay Chart – only one less than Q3. However, it’s again an international act that rules the roost, preserving the pattern that has played out over the course of 2018.

As its title suggests, Calvin Harris & Sam Smith‘s ‘Promises’ was an assured pick for radio success. Crowned Most Added upon release, the smooth and voguish dance number topped the Hot 100 for two-out-of-nine weeks of the quarter, bouncing around the Top 3 for the preceding two months.

That all but guaranteed the collab’s position as the most-played single on Australian radio in Q4 2018.

The final quarter of 2018 brought a pleasant surprise for Australian music. Newcastle country boy Morgan Evans released ‘Day Drunk’ in June, a light-hearted drinking anthem that followed on from the commercially successful breakthrough ‘Kiss Somebody’.

We knew pop radio and country music were meant to be when pop queen Bebe Rexha partnered with Florida Georgia Line to produce the stand-out single of Q1.

Our assumptions were confirmed when, in August, multiple radio formats raised their hands in support of Evans’ country-pop hit, elevating the single to #1 on the Hot 100 and an eventual podium place on the Q4 chart.

"...world class songwriting transcends any genre labels"

- Kerry Roberts, AU Management Rep - Morgan Evans

Taylor Swift‘s ‘Love Story’ in 2009 was the last time a single by a lead country artist topped the airplay chart – hallmarking a change in the water at pop radio almost a decade later.

“Morgan writes great songs that truly connect with people from all walks of life, from the heart of the country to the center of the city,” said Kerry Roberts, Evans’ Australian management rep.

“Commercial radio stepped up to back the song in a way that paid off for everyone,” she added.

While Evans was gaining new ground in the crowded realms of commercial radio, country radio was also wide awake to the new single. ‘Day Drunk’ rose to #1 on the TMN Country Airplay Chart and remains at the top more than 20 weeks later.

Evans is now equal third all-time for number of weeks spent at the top of the chart, a feat that Roberts credits to the increasingly eclectic sound of CHR and Evans’ indisputable songwriting ability.

“For a Newcastle boy to write and record songs in Nashville that have people driving down the streets of the CBD singing along with their radios is the perfect culmination of years of hard work and a radio industry that has opened itself up to the potential of 21st century country music.

“…it’s a testament to the reality that world class songwriting transcends any genre labels.”

HOT 100 MARKET SHARE

The final quarter of 2018 saw market share drops across both the Hot 100 (-3.89%) and Hot 40 (-6.4%) for Universal Music Australia. Despite this, the major continued its dominance in the realm of Australian airplay. The major scored three Top 10 singles, the same number as Q3. The highest performing single for UMA in Q4 was Loud Luxury’s surprise radio hit ‘Body’ (#3).

HOT 100

34.76%

HOT 40

35.55%

Sony Music Entertainment’s market share improved quarter-on-quarter in 2018. Starting the year at 21.34% (Hot 100) and 16.40% (Hot 40), incremental quarterly increases ensured a strong finish for SME, especially in the Hot 40 where it almost doubled its Q1 share. Amy Shark, George Ezra, Kygo and Conrad Sewell were just some of the stand-out performers that contributed to the result.

HOT 100

29.47%

HOT 40

30.67%

With the likes of Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars and Rudimental petering out over the course of the year, Warner Music Australia’s Q4 market share dipped to 20.83% (-4.54%) on the Hot 100 and 17.56% (-1.95%) on the 40. Morgan Evans kept the label’s share healthy with ‘Day Drunk’, as did Panic! At The Disco and Rita Ora.

HOT 100

20.83%

HOT 40

17.56%

EMI made significant headway in Q4 with some of the label’s key artists - Sam Smith, Jonas Blue, 5 Seconds Of Summer and Halsey - all posting strong performances at radio. While the label enjoyed a rise to 11.07% (+4.91%) on the Hot 100, the Hot 40 was the source of most joy in Q4. 15.49% (+7.44%) of the market belonged to EMI, a vast improvement on any other quarterly result this year.

HOT 100

11.07%

HOT 40

15.49%

Mushroom labels were without an entry in the Hot 40 in Q4, with Aussie stalwarts Vance Joy and The Rubens helping the indie to 1.33% (-2.27%) on the Hot 100. Overall, Mushroom slipped more than 60% on the previous quarterly result.

HOT 100

1.34%

INDEPENDENTS

Independent artists make up 2.54% of the Q4 Hot 100 chart thanks to commercial radio's soft spot for emerging artists CXLOE (#35) and Lauv (#48). It wouldn't be a quarterly radio wrap without mention of Sia whose 2016 single 'Cheap Thrills' continues to get airplay on Australian radio. The Inertia release ranks at #77 on the Q4 chart.